Silver lining

Heres a collection of photos from the storm on Wednesday and Thursday. I did get wet Wednesday at a secret spot but there is a whole story that I won't go into. On Thursday one of my favourites PK was firing but I ripped the zip off my wettie as I was suiting up to go out. Bummer.

Perhaps I should lay off on the vanilla slices !

Wednesday

Eagle Bay

PK

Dunsborough Boat Ramp

Meelup

Squall coming

Meelup

Clubbies were testing their jet skis in the pounders

PK

 Thursday - PK

Nada

Swell but no waves today. Low tide, straight handers and northerly winds.

According to the Weather Bureau we are in for gale force winds from this afternoon with another front coming through.

Gale Warning
Mandurah to Walpole
Winds increasing to north to northwesterly 20 to 30 knots early Tuesday evening and further to northwesterly 30 to 40 knots during Tuesday evening. Winds shifting to west to southwesterly 25 to 35 knots early Wednesday morning and easing to 20 to 30 knots by sunrise and below 25 knots during Wednesday morning. Seas 3m to 4m. Swell 2 to 3 metres.

Doesn't look like there will be much surfing for the next few days.

0.80 @ 13

Winter ?

Freezing cold and plenty of people around Bunbury woke to hail this morning.

The wind has been ridiculous all day again. Walked the dogs to the Wall this morning when it was hitting 50 ks again. There was some swell but the wind was blowing straight into out and flattening it out before it could peak.

On the plus side I got my first stand up paddle board this afternoon. Damn e-bay ! Promise I won't use it to surf anytime it's reasonable - I'll be riding a proper board then.

Offshore

It was sort of offshore late this arvo. Not surfable but a change from the smashing we got from late Thursday.

Yesterday was ridiculous. The winds were over 30 kph for the whole day and gusting around 50 hour after hour. The wind peaked at 82 kph at 2.30 and 74 at 7.30 pm.  At 7.00 am this morning the winds stopped gusting over 50 kph and it wasn't till 4.00 pm that gust finally fell consistently below 30 kph.

Swell wise it peaked at around 1.5 metres but combined with the big seas it hit 2.75 metres for a while. Even deep inside the harbour was rocking. The Naturaliste buoy peaked over five.

Tomorrow is forecast as being offshore in the morning but with a sea breeze around noon. I wouldn't think it would be very good but it might be work a quick look at the Capel Cut and maybe Binningup. The boogers should add the Bay to that list.

We'll see !


1.05 @ 13

Another one

A deep low should bash us over the next few hours. The warning is for widespread destructive winds and maybe hail. Lows move slower and pack more punch than fronts so tie down anything thats left from yesterday. The 100 kmh winds would be nearly double what we coped yesterday and last night.

Swell is meant to be between four and eight metres at Naturaliste. At the moment its 3.4 and rising. Locally its 1.10 at a very short 10 seconds.

No waves obviously and the beach is a mess. The Wall might be okay if the wind dies down a little but I would wait it out until at least lunch time. You don't want to be out there when it gets worse.

WEATHER SITUATION

A deep low is moving south of the state and is expected to effect the south of
the state during Tuesday. The low is expected to cause WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS
to 100 kilometres per hour which could result in DAMAGE TO HOMES AND PROPERTY in
the area near Cape Leeuwin, extending to southwest of a line Mandurah to
Katanning to Albany during the morning then to remaining parts during the
afternoon. 

HIGHER THAN NORMAL TIDES may result in flooding of low-lying coastal areas.
DANGEROUS surf conditions are likely which could cause SIGNIFICANT beach
erosion.

This system is expected to be windier than a typical winter front and is likely
to produce the kind of weather that is only seen once or twice a year.

Cape Leeuwin has recorded a gust of 91 km/hr at 5:43 AM WST.

Its back

Two fronts in a row to start Spring. Severe weather warning issued for today with the front due to hit the capes about 9.00 am.

WEATHER SITUATION
A strong cold front is approaching from the southwest, expected near Cape
Leeuwin about 9am and extending throughout the area by 5pm. Widespread showers,
isolated thunderstorms and squally conditions expected with the front. Squalls
may cause DANGEROUS WINDS in excess of 125 kilometres per hour that could cause
SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OR DESTRUCTION TO HOMES OR PROPERTY IN LOCALISED AREAS.

Tomorrow's front is also meant to be strong as well.

Surf wise it is what you would expect. Onshore, sloppy and brown. The swell has dropped a little, not that it matters. The forecast is for 4 - 7 metres on Tuesday.

0.76 @ 12

They were right

Front started to hit early this morning and it has been windy and rainy since.

Don't expect much change or to get ocean wet today. I'm guessing that a few will head to the Wall for a look but you'd need to be keen.

As usual in this weather the harbour buoy has dropped out.

WEATHER SITUATION

A strong cold front and associated rain band approaching the South West of the
state may cause HEAVY RAINFALL that could cause FLASH FLOODING and DAMAGING
WINDS to  100 kilometres per hour which could result in DAMAGE TO HOMES AND
PROPERTY from mid to late Sunday morning about the SW district, extending
throughout Sunday afternoon and evening. DANGEROUS GUSTS in excess of 125
kilometres per hour could cause SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO HOMES AND PROPERTY IN
LOCALISED AREAS.

HIGHER THAN NORMAL TIDES are expected near the south coast .

People in the southwest of WA experience a front as windy as this about 5 times
per year.

Last chance

If you need to get wet this weekend you've got about an hour. A severe weather warning has just been issued for tomorrow from dawn and it looks like we'll be battening down for the day.

It's onshore but about 1 in 10 holds up. I just had a quick bash and it wasn't easy out there. It not the size but the strength of the rip thats making it a little difficult. Lots of paddling in, out and sideways.

If you aren't keen start putting away your outside stuff instead.

0.73 @ 12.

Here it comes again

Another front on the way tomorrow with damaging winds. Good job I didn't put the outdoor furniture back after the last one.

Bit of a pre-front northerly wave for those who were quick this afternoon. I saw a guy take a clean head height drop on what looked like the best peak in front of the surf club.

The sea and swell have both swung north west and are climbing rapidly.  The sea is 1.12 and the swell 0.73. The swell period has dropped four seconds since midday and is sitting on 10.

There are some weird blobs on the Stormsurf wave models for the next week or so. It has a 30 foot swell hitting Marges in 72 hours with Perth getting 18 - 20. Forty seven feet of swell is passing the south coast. There are then two follow up 15 to 20 foot swells in the following few days

The models can be a bit funky and this is super unusual

WEATHER SITUATION
A cold front moving over the area during Tuesday is likely to cause WIDESPREAD
DAMAGING WINDS to 100 kilometres per hour that could result in DAMAGE TO HOMES
AND PROPERTY. In isolated areas DANGEROUS GUSTS in excess of 125 kilometres per
hour could cause SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OR DESTRUCTION TO HOMES AND PROPERTY.
DAMAGING winds are likely to develop about the Capes early on Tuesday morning
and extend to remaining parts later in the morning. Thunderstorms are also
possible.

Higher than normal tides may result in flooding of low-lying coastal areas in
the Geographe Bay area, including Busselton and Dunsborough, on Tuesday morning.

This is typical weather for this time of year.

Well !

What a storm. Plenty of trees still down and lots of people without power.

The period between 1 pm and 4 pm was the worse, up to 111 kmh winds and 4 mm of rain. The harbour buoys both registered gusts in the 50 knot range and beacon ten, which is well inside Koombana Bay hit over 0.44 metres. It usually its below 0.1.

Beacon 10 - inside Koombana Bay

This wasn't a standard winter front but a tropical low (those things that form cyclones up higher in summer) The barometric pressure dropped massively and suddenly as the the low past over us. It went from a fairly low for us 1005 at 6.00 am to under 985 about 1.00 ish. This is lower than many cyclones.

Pressure drops out - wind goes up

Surf wise tomorrow looks crap, howling westerlies, Tuesday is meant to be worse than today and Wednesday westerlies again in the 30 knot plus range.

Severe weather warning

The weather bureau just released this -

WEATHER SITUATION
A deepening low offshore from Bunbury is expected to move rapidly southeast
towards  Augusta during Sunday afternoon and produce DANGEROUS WINDS in excess
of 125 kilometres per hour that could cause SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OR DESTRUCTION TO
HOMES AND PROPERTY IN LOCALISED AREAS. 

Winds associated with this storm are MUCH STRONGER THAN A USUAL WINTER STORM,
particularly in the southwest. The worst wind conditions are likely near the
coast between Bunbury and Augusta but DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS  could be
experienced in areas southwest of a line Jurien Bay to Katanning to Bremer Bay,
including Perth, Mandurah, Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River, Bridgetown,
Albany, Katanning, Narrogin and Bremer Bay. 

Across the entire warning area, DAMAGING WIND GUSTS to 110 kilometres per hour
are expected which could result in DAMAGE TO HOMES AND PROPERTY. 

There are some guys out around the surf club but the conditions have changed rapidly in the last thirty minutes. Winds have gone from gusts around 25 ks at noon to 54 ks ten minutes ago. Looking over the water it ain't getting better in a hurry.

Novelty waves

Looking at the severe weather forecast for tomorrow some of my favourite Dunsborough novelty spots might be worth a look. Places like the old Dunsbrough boat ramp or the corner of Eagle Bay could be a goer if the proper spots are blown out. Otherwise Wednesday might be ok for the Farm and Rocky Point before another front on Thursday.

If you haven't already it might be a good idea to drag loose stuff inside and check the insurance policy as it could be a bit blowy first thing. The last time I can remember a front being due around 6 am was when the tornado rip apart the town in 1995.

Coastal waters forecast

Tuesday: W/NW winds 30/40 knots with squalls to 55 knots in showers and thunderstorms. Winds easing to W'ly 20/30 knots late morning and W/NW 20/25 knots during the evening. Higher than normal tides and dangerous surf conditions expected north of Cape Leeuwin. Seas 2.5m to 3.5m. Swell to 5.0m.

Weather

Cyclone due tomorrow and severe thunderstorms just starting to move in as I type. The City of Bunbury surf club will be happy that they were able to get their country carnival done before the weather moved in.

The scary conditions haven't brought any swell yet. The buoy has been in or around the twenties but is just starting to move up again. There isn't away waves locally and it is a bit of a toss up whether we'll get any from the cyclone.

Batten down and hope

Massive

A proper winter front has been battering us all day and half of last night. The swell is huge, hitting nearly seven metres at Naturaliste and over two in the harbour. This makes it pretty much the biggest swell this year and with more bad weather to come it could kick up more.

Swellnet.com.au is predicting 15 foot plus at Marges for the next three days but the gale force winds will stop the crazies.

The Wall was the only place surfable this afternoon and had attracted a good crowd. There was a mix of stand up and body boarder, groms and grown ups. The size was around head height on the take off for the sets and one guy was linking from way out the back.

Watch some of the action. Left the better camera at home so you'll have to excuse the quality.

Tie Everything Down

Last night's front was a beauty and the bad weather continues today with the passage of a low. A severe weather warning was just issued for the south west and it is about to bucket down.

As you would expect the beach is a now surf zone. Now where locally is worth even looking at. Stay home and watch TV.

Strap Yourself In !!!

If last night's weather wasn't enough for you, a stronger front is hitting as I write.

Winds are at 44 knots on the harbour buoy with a swell over 1.7 metres. Winds have been between 30 and 40 kph all day with gusts up around 70. A gust on the buoy was around 70 knots !!!

Naturaliste buoy is at 6 metres and the gales are continuing.

Tomorrow looks slightly better weather wise but not surf wise.

Hope your roof stays on.

Danger Will Robinson

Only one word to describe it - HUGE.



We have been in between fronts for most of the day but with another severe weather warning just released the next bashing is not far away.

The ocean is a monster with waves peaking and breaking further out than you are likely to see the other 364 days a year.





This morning saw two guys out at the Wall. It was very messy and the peak shifted everywhere. The only got two each in about 30 minutes of paddling and duck diving. It was too bad for the Saturday board board crew who, despite being suited up, walked, looked and walked back. They didn't go back dry as the waves were breaking over the rockwall and spraying the footpath (and it was raining).

Looks as bad tomorrow. Hopefully Fuel TV is back to the Sunday Session and not Ultimate Fighter.

Severe Weather Warning

The good news is that the current severe weather warning indicates that the winds will calm later tomorrow before a stronger front on Saturday night.

Check out the satellite picture. Hows that for a straight edged front ???

Might be a good few days to stay inside. Don't try anything stupid like surfing in Bunbury.